Sam White – Resilience and Adaptability
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
Release Date: 06/15/2022
Rob Stephenson – Removing the stigma around mental ill health
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , founder of the and champion for improved understanding of mental health issues. Rob is an international keynote speaker and mental health campaigner who is on a mission to help create happier, healthier and higher performing workplaces. When he was 30 Rob was diagnosed as Bipolar. Rob tells the story of how mental ill health affected him earlier in his life and how a former boss encouraged him to seek help, ultimately leading to a diagnosis. From a very dark time in his life, Rob reveals how the support of his...
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Mark Webb – Changing the disability conversation
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , a public speaker and campaigner for all things disability and diversity. Mark is Shadow Board Member at , the UK’s only not-for-profit influencer talent management agency. Until very recently he was also Head of Comms at , the worldwide social network for people impacted by Multiple Sclerosis. He has just taken medical retirement. He’s a self-confessed social media floozy. Mark looks back on how his diagnosis has affected his career as well as his life, and the incredible support he’s been shown...
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Levent Yildizgoren – Defining moments that make us re-evaluate our lives
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , who is a serial entrepreneur, mentor, speaker, visiting lecturer at Essex University and the Managing Director of . Levent works closely with his clients to overcome the language barriers and help them grow their business globally In this episode, Levent recalls the time he took the plunge and quit his job to go full-time in the family business – how it felt having the fear of leaving a secure, relatively well-paid full-time position to start and develop a business. Levent reveals how that went, the...
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Emma Stroud – Thrive through Laughter and Authenticity
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to . Emma is a podcaster, author, speaker and clown!! Em co-founded a business that offered interactive stress management workshops, leadership programmes and coaching. In 2020, she branched out on her own to deliver workplace talks, events and coaching to address staff happiness and wellbeing. Drawing on her experience with clowning, she employs pioneering techniques that force leaders to ‘take fun seriously’ at a time when, she believes, ‘it’s never been more important to find joy.’ Emma coaches CEOs,...
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Duncan Goose – Great Human Values
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , founder of . There are one billion people in the world without access to clean drinking water. Duncan knew he couldn’t change one billion lives at once, so instead he started improving access to water for one person at a time. One Water is one of the biggest water brands in the world and a percentage of their profit goes to charitable initiatives in Africa such as repairing vital water pumps in small villages. One Water’s mission began in 2005, the goal was (and still is) to sell one bottle to help...
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Jamie Waller – Bringing kindness to a previously unkind industry
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to . Jamie is an East London boy done good who left school at 16 without any qualifications and suffering dyslexia. Jamie got into debt collecting and turned an industry on its head. Jamie reveals how his motivations have shifted considerably throughout the course of his career – from simply making money, to improving his sector and helping those around him. Jamie recalls how his career began as a self-employed bailiff and the poor practices that he witnessed in that industry. Appalled by the morals and...
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Sam White – Resilience and Adaptability
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , CEO of . Sam cares passionately about diversity, equality, innovation and above all, making business human. Motivated by a desire to change the insurance industry for the better, Sam is a vocal advocate for levelling the playing field for women and championing female leaders within the industry. Sam started her first company in 1999, just a year after her mother who battled with alcohol addiction tragically died of an overdose. Despite starting a number of businesses Sam describes herself as an...
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Julian Hall – Teaching and Inspiring Entrepreneurship
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to who is founder and CEO of , an organisation which teaches entrepreneurship in schools. Julian created a superhero persona to get kids interested in business and now teaches kids across the country. He set up his first business when he was 18 years old and believes entrepreneurs are made, not born. Julian was always academic, but wasn’t drawn to the natural opportunities for work that followed education. It was a desire to carve his own way in the world that led Julian to entrepreneurship....
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Karen Holden – Motivated by respect for others
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
In this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to , founder of . She established the firm to provide experienced and dynamic solicitors in the City of London, who could think outside the box, whilst delivering at competitive costs. Karen was invited and given freedom of the City in 2019 for her work in Equality as such is part of the Guild of Freeman. She has also attended 10 Downing Street where she was awarded small business of the year. From humble beginnings, Karen describes what motivated her to work multiple jobs alongside her A-Levels to achieve and...
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Season 2 - Coming Soon!
Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors
Hi I’m Jeff Dewing and I’m really excited to announce a brand new season of Doing the Opposite: Business disruptors In season one, you heard from some exceptional leaders from the world of banking, marketing, sport, media and more and they shared some of the means in which they disrupted the commonly accepted “way things should be done” and made big differences to their businesses. This time, we’re going to take a closer look at some of the key qualities that any great business disruptor must have, from resilience and self-belief to the ability to silence critics,...
info_outlineIn this episode of Doing the Opposite: Business Disruptors, Jeff Dewing speaks to Sam White, CEO of Freedom Services Group. Sam cares passionately about diversity, equality, innovation and above all, making business human. Motivated by a desire to change the insurance industry for the better, Sam is a vocal advocate for levelling the playing field for women and championing female leaders within the industry.
Sam started her first company in 1999, just a year after her mother who battled with alcohol addiction tragically died of an overdose.
Despite starting a number of businesses Sam describes herself as an entrepreneur, not a CEO, and she draws an interesting distinction as to why. You’ll also hear how a change in UK regulation led to Sam’s business losing 60% of their revenue in a four week period. Sam describes the difficulties that that presented, and how they set about overcoming those. She also discusses gender bias in society and how she designed an insurance product targeted at women.
Sam explains that one of her drivers is ‘Why not?’ It was that mentality that led her to live in Beverly Hills for a time – in a house that was later rented by One Direction!!!
Hosted by Jeff Dewing
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